The cuts revealed in the Comprehensive Spending Review have not been quite as bad as the construction industry had apparently been expecting (£3.5 billion not as bad). Nevertheless there have still been billions of pounds shaved off various departmental budgets which will affect the construction industry. Where public spending has in the past been a reliable source of income, some companies are inevitably now going to feel the effect of the cuts.

The demise of Connaught's social housing maintenance business will have left a great deal of its local authority clients wondering what happens next when you need services to be undertaken and cannot afford to wait for the contractor's administration to pan out. Such clients need to be aware of what they can do in this situation under the contract. First, do some homework: who else is there in the marketplace? Is there a potential buyer of the insolvent firm's business and will any such purchase include the contract that it has with you?